Elon Musk's Starlink satellites traffic ‘tripled’ in 2023

Global internet traffic from Elon Musk's Starlink satellites nearly quadrupled this year, as per an estimate published on Tuesday by the tech infrastructure business Cloudflare.

According to Cloudflare's end-of-year analysis, Starlink traffic in the United States increased by more than 150% this year compared to 2022. Traffic in Brazil, where Starlink began service last year, has surged by more than 1,600% this year.

According to the Associated Press, Starlink clients in Brazil have included some illicit mining enterprises that would otherwise have few choices for interacting with one another in the remote sections of the Amazon.

Despite his numerous issues, Musk's quick development of the service demonstrates how he continues to extend his worldwide influence through the service. According to Cloudflare, Starlink's traffic climbed far faster than worldwide internet traffic, which increased by 25%.

“They’re continuing to make their service available in more and more places, which will just drive more and more traffic onto their network,” David Belson, Cloudflare’s head of data insight, said in a phone interview. 

Cloudflare's growth figures have not been validated by Starlink, a part of Musk's rocket company, SpaceX. 

SpaceX did not react quickly to a request for comment on the figures.